Your Health: Texts help expectant moms take better care of themselves

Motherly adviceA new text message service provides free health advice for new and expectant moms.Text4baby provides free weekly cell phone messages for moms to take care of their own health and that of their babies, timed to the baby's due date or birthday.Sign up for the service by texting BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411.Messages focus on preventing birth defects, plus providing tips on immunization, nutrition, flu, mental health, oral health and safe sleep, as well as links to prenatal and infant care services.The service is provided by the Lake County Health Department and the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition. For more information, visit www.text4baby.org.Carbs vs. caloriesCutting carbs and cutting calories can both help you lose weight - but the low-carb approach increases HDL cholesterol.A recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine looked at 300 obese people who followed either an Atkins-style low carb diet, or a calorie-restricting, low-fat diet for two years.Both groups lost 11 percent of their weight after one year and regained some for a total loss of 7 percent after two years, but HDL levels rose more for people on the low-carb diet.Pet food salmonellaA surprising source of salmonella in your kitchen may be Spot's or Kitty's food.Because pet food and treats are typically made from animals, they are at risk for salmonella bacteria.A study in "Pediatrics" makes the first link between pet food and human salmonella outbreaks.Seventy-nine patients in 27 states were identified after getting sick in 2006-2008; half were children aged 2 or under.Illness among infants was significantly associated with feeding pets in the kitchen. Experts emphasized proper food storage, handling and hand washing to prevent illness.Younger pubertyThe age at which girls start puberty in the United States continues to fall in a trend that's been going on for two decades.The "Pediatrics" study of 1,200 girls in three cities found that by age 8, puberty had begun in 18 percent of white non-Hispanic girls - twice as much as in 1997 - 43 percent of black girls, and 31 percent of Hispanic girls.Overweight girls were significantly more likely to develop earlier, so the nationwide increase in overweight children is thought to play a role. Substances in the environment, such as bisphenol-A, found in plastics, are also suspected to affect hormones.Though the percentages were based on when girls began developing breasts, the average age to start menstruation remained between 12 and 13. Earlier development can lead to increased rates of breast cancer, eating disorders and depression.False19631780Because pet food and treats are typically made from animals, they are at risk for salmonella bacteria. False